Dr. Matthew Kostelecky Appointed Vice-President (Academic) and Dean of St. Joseph's College
19 January 2022
As Interim VPAD since 2019, Dr. Kostelecky has guided SJC Academics through COVID-19 and the many challenges brought about by the pandemic, supporting the needs of students and faculty. While doing this, he has led curriculum reviews and implemented a 3-year Wabash teaching grant where SJC faculty listen to colleagues and students to improve student-centred teaching at SJC. With over 10 years of graduate and undergraduate teaching and thesis supervision at the University of Alberta, while regularly teaching both at SJC and in the Department of Philosophy, Dr. Kostelecky has leveraged these relationships and experience to develop essential partnerships for SJC.
In addition, throughout the Interim period, Dr. Kostelecky has formed external relationships for the benefit of SJC and explored expanding programming at the College. Specifically, Dr. Kostelecky has secured increasing agreements with Catholic School districts for SJC’s Certificate of Catholic Education. He also has partnered with the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Arts at UofA on key initiatives with SJC.
Dr. Shawn Flynn, President of SJC, reflects on the appointment: “It is always a celebration when an institution can foster and develop its next leaders. Coming up through the academic ranks at SJC, Dr. Kostelecky has the breadth of experience at the University of Alberta and at SJC to serve faculty colleagues and students well. He brings a passion for the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, and how it can challenge and support key discussions in the public sphere. Already as the Interim VPAD, Dr. Kostelecky has positioned SJC in the province to serve the future needs of students, build on the legacy and efforts of his faculty colleagues, and strengthen SJC’s critical service to the UofA, to the City of Edmonton, to the Church, and to the province.”
Dr. Kostelecky looks forward to the work: “I am delighted to continue this important work with St. Joe's faculty, students, and staff, as well as our partners at the UofA. I have a genuine passion for the mission of the College and am excited to work with all of these people to implement that mission ever more effectively, to the benefit of our students and faculty, the UofA, and beyond.”
The College especially wishes to thank the dedication of the hiring committee, made up of faculty colleagues, board members, UofA colleagues and colleagues of our neighbouring Catholic College.
Dr. Kostelecky will take up this role for a five-year period.
About St. Joseph’s College
As the Catholic college affiliated with the University of Alberta, St. Joseph's College is committed to engaging with and promoting the Church's traditional openness to exploring the unity of Faith and Reason.
Through its academic program, which is supported and enhanced by a flourishing worshipping community and by residence programs for female and male students that focus on their holistic development, it provides opportunities for all constituents of the College, including those who are not of the Catholic faith, to gain an ever-deeper understanding of and appreciation for the nature of Creation, as well as to commit to its preservation.
As an inclusive community open to all and grounded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, St. Joseph’s College strives to contribute to the building of a world in which the common good of all is of paramount importance.